Postoperative infections following cochlear implant surgery

Introduction: The aim of this study was to report the frequency and management of postoperative wound infections and to investigate bacteriology and biofilm formation following 653 consecutive cochlear implantations in adults.Methods: A retrospective file review of 653 consecutive adult cochlear implantations between 1994 and 2015 at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Odense University Hospital. A reporting consensus was used to classify infections.Results: The major and minor infection rates were 2% and 8%, respectively. The explantation rate due to infection was 1%. The most common pathogen found was Staphylococcus aureus and biofilm formation was found in 73% of the explantations.Conclusion: Postoperative infection occurred in 10% of the implantations. However, few of these were severe. Staphylococcus aureus was the most common pathogen and the presence of biofilm seemed to be associated with a higher risk of explantation.